Remote areas 2006-08

Remote Australia program

‘Because we live in such a remote area, far from doctors, hospitals and medical services, we get a bit blasé about all those health checks that we should do, and put them off most of the time’. ‘The SFF workshop made me think about being more proactive in regard to health issues’.

The Department of Health and Ageing (DOHA) have placed a priority on programs that addresses the health issues of remote agricultural populations. In 2006 the Commonwealth provided funding to Western District Health Service and its collaborative partners to undertake a project to work with farm families (pastoralists), industries and health services within Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) 4 and 5 for a period of two years.

These are remote rural areas with significantly restricted accessibility of goods, services and opportunities for social interaction.

Sites for the Reaching the Remote program were:

Tennant Creek and Katherine in the Northern Territory,

Georgetown and Mt Surprise in North Queensland,

Walgett and Burren Junction in New South Wales; and

Esperance and Cascade in Western Australia.

Further projects are now being run in Geraldton and Northhampton in WA, these programs are addressed under the Western Australian Program.

Pastoralists and agricultural workers have embraced this research and are incorporating health as an important business indicator that affects their ‘triple bottom line’. The Sustainable Farm Families program™ has continued to grow in its capacity and has been extended to other agricultural industries such as dairy, and horticulture throughout rural Australia to test its transferability and to further investigate the health of farm families.

Key outcomes from the project reveal:

Improvement in health indicators in some farm members at risk of diseases throughout the program

Retention of some knowledge gained through the education process

Overall improvement of the participants’ health through measurable indicators

Recommendation of the health program to others by 100 percent of farming participants

The Reaching the Remote program ran between 2006 and 2008.

Reaching the Remote partners

We thank the following organisation for funding the program

Department of Health and Ageing

Acknowledgement is also made to our collaborative partners:

Department of Primary Industries, Fisheries and Mines in the Northern Territory

Katherine West Health Board, Frontier Services

Hunter New England Health Service

Greater Western Area Health Service

Western Australia Country Health Service

Their encouragement in improving the health of farm families was always a priority and this report reflects that commitment.

Publications & reports

Pastoralists and agricultural workers have embraced this research and are incorporating health as an important business indicator that affects their ‘triple bottom line’. The Sustainable Farm Families program™ has continued to grow in its capacity and has been extended to other agricultural industries such as dairy, and horticulture throughout rural Australia to test its transferability and to further investigate the health of farm families.